The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 6, 1928, Page 6

ROBERT MINOR Editor WM. F. DUNNE os Assistan | See arenthe V O T E Cc @) M M U N I S T ! For ap For President WILLIAM Z. FOSTER Foster For the Workers! | AD) 54 | workers (communist) parry For the Party of the Class Struggle! al | SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By Mai) (in New York only): $8 a year $4.50 six mos. 0 three mos. By Mail ( le of New York): $3 $2.00 three mos. Addr to The Daily Worker, 26-: | | | $6 a year | ec, New York, N. Y. HE DAILY WORKER, NEW YURK, 'TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1928 For Vice-President BENJAMIN GITLOW Ben Gitlow | Against the Capitalists! The Thin Shell of “Democratic” Elections ¥ SRANT HINKLE Secectany cr stare AM. KITTO ASST SECRETARY OF STATE Department of State Olpmpia septcegee 1928 Mr.daron Fyslerman, 503 Born Ave. Seattle, Washington. Dear Sir;- I know the position the United States government has taken on things Commnistic. officials I feel it is the duty of the several states through their) »when opportunity affords,to uphold that position. For thie reason,and as a matter of Public Policy,I refuse to file the liat of officials chosen > y the Coumunistic Party in their State Convention held on September llth 1928, The letter, a photographic copy of which is | printed above, is a useful study for all work- ers during these days when the minds of all are still fixed upon the election. It was written some weeks ago by the secretary of state of the state of Washington to an or- ganizer of the Workers (Communist) Party. The Workers (Communist) Party partici- pates in the “democratic” elections which, in the pretense that “the people are selecting their representatives,’ American capitalism conducts. But the revolutionary Party knows that “the people” are not selecting “their repre- sentatives.” It knows, and it tells the work- ing class that the great financial capitalists, high in power above the masses of exploited workers and farmers, are the real governing power. The revolutionary party of the working class knows that these “democratic” elections under the capitalist state are only a mask ke- hind which the iron dictatorship of Wall Street operates. When the historical condi- tions of struggle between these overlords and those whom they exploit reach such a stage as to endanger the continued rule of the ex- ploiting class—then the mask of “democracy” is cast aside and the real dictatorship of the capitalist class is exposed in all its nakedness. Even now such a situation exists in Nicara- gua, where a war of imperialist conquest has been waged for the past two years and where only candidates subservient to Wall Street are permitted to appear on the ballot. So fearful was the imperialist government of the United States that even then the Nicara- | guans would write the name of Sandino across the ballots that an invading horde of marines guarded the elections while death-dealing bombing planes droned menacingly through the air above the polling places. The election in Nicaragua Sunday showed the American working class and impoverished farmers precisely what is to be expected from the government when the revolutionary forces in this country are as great a menace to capi- talist rule as are the forces of rebellion against Wall Street rule in that Latin Ameri- can country. We are fortunate to be able to show so plainly as the above letter, written with an unwise frankness by Mr. Hinckle, secretary of state of Washington State, that the real attitude of the capitalist government of this country to the working class here is in no essential way different from its attitude to- ward our brothers in Nicaragua. Although containing nothing new to Communists, the letter is noteworthy inasmuch as it exposes in the sharpest way the fraud of capitalist class democracy. It exposed the fact that the representatives of the capitalist state violate with impunity their gwn forms of ‘“demo- sracy,” their own 8, when to abide by them is not advaktggeous to the ruling class Parliamentary action is useful only means of carrying the revolutionary message to the masses, of mobilizing the exploited workers and impoverished farmers against Very y Yours thee growth of class consciousness among the masses—only that and nothing more. This action of the secretary of Washington state emphasizes the fact that the ruling class will not only not surrender their power until de- cisively beaten by a revolutionary mass struggle, but they will not even in all cases permit their so-called democratic electoral machinery to be used to register the senti- ment for a change in the system of wealth production, The ruling of the supreme court of Wash- ington state reversed the decision of which the letter tells, and the party of the working class is on the ballot in the State of Wash- ington. The ruling cannot by any means be interpreted as evidence that the supreme court judges are more “liberal” or “tolerant” than the secretary of state, but simply that they feel that it is necessary to conceal, for the time being, the real role of the govern- ment as the dictatorship of the capitalist class. As the war-mongers drive forward to a new "ARY OF STATE, world war in order again to attempt a re- | division of the world between the imperialist powers and as the conspiracies against the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, the fatherland of the working class of the world, assume an ever more malignant character, the ruling class will indulge in ever more op- pressive measures against the one implacable party that challenges the very foundation of capitalist class power—the Workers (Com- munist) Party of America. Being the party of the class struggle, the party of the proletarian revolution, and not merely a party of capitalist elections, our fight in every battle of the working class, in every battle against imperialism and in de- fense of the Soviet Union and the colonials and semi-colonials ground under the iron heel of Wall Street’s mercenaries, does not by any means end with the close of the election cam-., paign. struggle, for the organization of the unorgan- ized workers in the basic and war industries of the country, deeper penetration by revolu- tionary units of the army, the navy the marines, the air forces and every branch of imperialist aggression, which were carried on during the election campaign tn connection therewith. telentlessly day in and day out, growing in power from month to'month and year to year, the Workers (Communist) Party will lead the working class and exploited farmers to the final assault on the citadels of capi- talism. In this campaign we have called upon the toiling masses to vote Communist. After the vote is cast remember that it is the duty of every sympathizer to participate in the every day mass struggles of our Party and to join with us in the mightiest movement the world has ever seen—the movement to scourge from the face of the earth the last slave sys- tem of all time. Do you vote Communist? Now join the the oapitalist state and of registering the | Workers (Communist) Party! a s mre Instead it continues those forms of | CLASS AGAINST CLASS! By Fred Ellis By OTTO E. HUISWOUD Sit ‘stavery the Ne- gro has consistently supported the republican party. This whole- hearted and undivided support arose because of the belief that the re- publican party was the party of “freedom,” the party which, under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln had rescued him from that most brutal and vicious system of ex- ploitation, chattel slavery. Taught | by his leaders that he owes a debt | of gratitude to the republicans be- cause they “freed” him, he supports the party of big business, thereby \unwittingly assisting in his own subjection. Thus assured of the Negro’s support, the republican leaders have never worried about |the Negro vote. They have counted jit before it was cast. Reward to Lackeys. Loyal services rendered by the | Negro lackeys of the G. O. P. were |rewarded with political appoint- ments of one kind er another. A ew were “honored” with such po- |litical plums as Recorder of Deeds, Collector of Customs, ete, Some, \because they had played the game well and delivered the “sheep to the slaughterhouse,” were made Na- tional Committeemen in the south. controlled republican politics in the south because the white south was largely democratic. They never raised their voice in protest against the brazen manner in which the Negro masses, in a state of peonage, were driven with the lash to pick cotton for the en- richment of the southern Bourbons. Ostrich-like, they hid from the sys- tematic exploitation and debase- | ment of the masses. That lynching, jdisfranchisement, Jim-crowism and segregation were deliberately fos- tered to gain a certain end—the division of white ‘and black work- ers, never concerned them. They sought to explain away these evils |by saying that the “poor whites” are responsible for them and that to control the mob, is against these practices. ry Changing Conditions. Changing industrial conditions in the south, however, have brought corresponding changes in the polit- ical situation. The manufacturing and industrial interests of the north are. Invading the south. jthe political party of the north—the \vepublican party. And as a step in |the direction of gaining a foothold land breaking up the “solid south,” |the republicans are sacrificing their | erstwhile loyal Negro supporters, whom they had crowned as leaders |-—-Perry Howard, Ben Davis, Bob |Chureh, ete., in order to supplant Negro political leadership with that cf the “lily whites.” | Not only is the republican party ‘silent on the burning issues affect- ing the Negro masses, but it openly ‘caters to the prejudices of the south. Senator George H. Moses, eastern campaign manager of the | party, reported at a meeting of the Woman's National Republican Club jthat Ferdinand Q. Morton (Negro ,|democrat), Civil Service Commis- white stenographer. “In Washing- ton, there is no colored Civil Ser- vice Commissioner who dictates to a white stenographer of the female sex, such as I understand is done right here in New York,” he said south, where Negro women may be |ravaged with impunity, while the | “sanctity” of white “womanhood” |of the democratic party also. lintelligent Negro workers. the “better” class of whites, unable | Likewise | sioner of New York, dictates to ay | Catering to the base passions of the | This campaign of anti-Negro Fropaganda and_ villification in- dulged in, in order to placate the south, is part of the stock in trade Not only is the role of the two parties the same—service to the capitalist class, their method of hoodwinking, deceiving and cajoling the working class is alike. On the issue of keep- ing the Negro in his “place,” both parties show complete unity. They are the parties of the K. K. K., the American Legion and other terroris- tie organizations. In their campaign program not a word is written about the special abuses which is the lot of the Negro in this “democracy,” except a few hypocritical words ut- tered by the republican party about the necessity of a federal law against lynching. This, in spite of the fact that a republican congress more than once defeated the Dyer anti-lynching bill. ) In order completely to assure the |south that they are safe (in the A s sens he Negro ques- These lackeys, of course, practically [southern sense) on: the Nagao. 4 tion, both presidential . candidates are as silent as the Sphinx on this burning issue. The “gentlemen’s” agreement that exists between the parties of big business, to keep the Negro at the bottom of capitalist society, to oppress and exploit him, is becoming imcreasingly evident to The old game of putting up Negro candi- Communists Alone Aid Struggle for Race Equality irg them in the back, so that the white candidate of tne opposing party will get elected, is being playea all over again. In this man- ner they demonstrate their utter contempt cr the Negro masses and their desire for elective representa- tion. Socialists No Better. The sccejalist party is no better than its brother parties of the cap- italist class, and their election cam- paign among the Negro workers is the biggest farce ever staged. The few “lame ducks” comprising the socialist branch in Negro Harlem are disgusted with the treatment meted out to them. They have been left in tie cold to shift for them- selves, Fighting for admission in- to “respectable” political circles, the socialist party dares not take up the cudgels for the Negro workers, fearing it may lose its “reputation” of being “safe and sane” for the bosses. Working hand in glove with the reactionary fakers of the Amer- icon Federation of Labor in order to win the support of the labor aris- tocrats, who are opposed to the ov- ganization of Negro workers in the trade unions, the socialist leaders are just as silent on the Negro ques- tion as the two old parties. They can not champion the cause of the Negro workers, for*this calls for an open and courageous struggle (Continued.) very complicated equipment, includ- jing wireless by which the squadron leader can transmit orders to his “men.” ‘The last of the machines of war period design (the D, H. 9, i “general purposes” type) are being serapped, and modern machines are being supplied at the yate of about 250 per year. So much for the general posi- tion; nearly twice as many planes per 1,000 rifles, most of these planes about twice as dangerous to the aeroplanes, troops, or civili- | ans they will be used against: the new types, fully equipped, rapidly replacing the old. Why is the Hawther “Horsley” machine the standard day-bomber of the R. A. F.? It is not nearly so fast as the Fairey “Fox.” The answer is that the “Fox” can- to India without touching the ground, and has actually flown non- stop from England to the Persian Gulf. In other words, it is capable of bombing Moscow from Poland, Finland, or Roumania, and getting back again. And that is the thing that the leaders of the R. A. F. lie awake at night too long for! eee a IN the same way, the first of a new sort of air craft has been produced in England. It is a “light fighter,” called the Blackburn “Lyncock.” No other country has produced any- thing similar. The engines in most fighting scouts run from 350 to 500 h. p., the “Lyncock” has an engine of only 200 h. p., yet it is almost as fast as most of the mo- dern fighters, at moderate heights, and only costs half as much to make. is upheld (against Negroes), the re- publicans are thus making a bid for southern support. i ra yaa Why has this machine (which would not stand much chance against the modern 500 h. p. Fighters are now equipped with| PLANS TO BOMB MOSCOW fighter, able to climb above it and dive down on it) been designed in | Britain? It is because it is the ideal machine, if produced in. suf- | ficient numbers, to chase the pres- ent Russian “general purposes” machine, The des‘gning of the “Lyncock” must have been started soon after the first photos of the Russian “Reply to Chamberlain” air fleet reached England. It is not yet in production, but could be turned out by the hundred in a very short space of time. Only one more type can be con- sidered: the air ministry have late- ‘ly placed a special order for an | aeroplane capable of flying for three days on end without descending! | This type, the Fairey-Napier mono. |Plane, is said to be building in or- |der to win the world’s endurance |record. ‘That is nonsense; the R. not go far enough. The “Horsley”! A. F. sets no stock by records, and | is capable of flying from England| Britain only holds half a dosen com-| pared with the scores held abroad. Three Days In Air, This machine can only be intended for use over enormous distances. Where is there a field for it, on ser- vice, except as a bomber against Russia? A small point may be mentioned to show the way in which the R. A. F. keeps ready for war, and also in which the figures of fighting ma- chines ready is kept lower on paper jthan it really is, The advanced training machines generally used in the flying schools consist of the ma- chines that are becoming (but are not yet completely) obsolete in the service, These machines of war type (not specially designed for training) are kept ready for service at all times. In particular, the engine throttle during use for training is “stopped”, so that only three-quarters of the power of the engine can be used, (To Be Continued) re athe dates in large cities, and then knif- | The Party for the Negroes egainst the very business interests from which they derive their sup- port. Confusion of “Leaders.” In this election ‘campaign the Ne- gro leaders are shifting their sup- port from one party to the other. So are the Negro masses. The jlargest and most influential paper, the “Chicago Defender,” has bolted the republican party and is support- ing the democrats; the “Baltimore Afro-American” has openly de- nounced Hoover and the republicans, “The Crisis,” official organ of the N. A. A. C. P., “is sitting squarely on the fence, naked and unashamed and, without apology.” William Pickens, well known as a “liberal,” says that “the democratic party should be smashed by the concen- tration of every Negro vote in sup- port of Herbert Hoover,” and that Negro voters should “play practical politics in this election rather than sentimental.” The revolt. among the Negro workers against the two capitalist parties is increasing tremendously and is a constant source of worry to the leaders. But no matter what antics they perform, they can not |stem the tide. Old campaign prom- ises do not avail now. It is deeds | that count, ‘Che Workers (Communist) Party is attracting numbers of Negro workers to its program of militant struggle in their behalf. In all sec- |tions of the country Negroes are |rallying to the banner of the only Party that will courageously fight their battles, and demands for them, “full economic, political and social equality.” They are beginning to jrealize that the Party has trans- jlated into action its program, “In the land of lynch law we will de- nounce lynching” and “in the home of Jim-crow we will attack segre- gation.” They now see that these |are living deeds ang not mere prom- ises, Fear Communists. As an indication of how effective the Party’s campaign among the Negro workers is, one may note the of the leading Negro journals, such as “The Crisis” and “Opportunity.” While they mention all other parties, not one word is said about the Workers (Communist) Party and its is no mere accident nor. ignorance of the facts. / Ey their acts the Negro workers will learn the truth about these cribblers and “penny-a-liners.” These parasites will be brushed aside like so much debris in the path of social development. These Negro editors are tied to the cap- italist chariot, they are dependent upon philanthropy and doles from the muster class. But the Negro masses want equal- ity—not alms! Negro workers, you are exploited and oppressed as workers and \as members of a racial minority. The capitalist class and its two big par- ties, the republican and democratic, are the parties of lynching, segre- gation and economic exploitation. The Workers (Communist) Party is the party that fights for the abol- ition of these conditions, hs 3 place is within the ranks of th Party. Your duty is to struggle with the class-conscious white work- ers to abolish this hellish system of slavery. The solidarity of the black and white workers under the lead- ership of the Workers (Communist) Party is the only force that can strike a real blow for our final emancipation, Negro workers, vote the Commu- vist ticket! Join the Workers (Communist) Party! conspiracy of silence on the part | activities among the Negroes. This |! ‘Putting Party on the Ballot in Connecticut ee By CHARLES MITCHELL Four years ago our Party failed to get its national candidates on the ballot in the state of Connecticut. In the present clections the Work- ers (Communist) Party is on the ballot in the “Nutmeg State,” and hesides the national ticket, repre- sented by William Z. Foster and Benjamin Gitlow, we also succeeded in placing a full state ticket, headed by William"MacKenzie’for governor and three congressmen, Hyman Wolfson, for Hartford, Joseph Schlossberg, for New Haven, and Isadore Wofsy, for Stamford. For the first time in the history of our Party, we have succeeded in placing it on the ballot in this most reactionary state, where the open- shoppers reign supreme, For the first time in the history of this | state, a Workers Party ‘will repre- jsent the workers with a real work- ig class program, with demands ally essential for the bettering of their conditions under capitalism, and at the same time putting for- ward its ultimate revolutionary aim for the overthrow of the capitalist system of society and for Commu- nism through the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Difficulties Overcome. vi from the huge metal shops, the brass plants, the steel foundries, the textile, rubber and ammunition fac- tories, which are the most exploited group of workers in the country, will have the opportunity to vote for a real working class political party and workers from the bench as can- didates. Two things were absolutely neces- sary, if we were to be successful in this work; first, it was necessary te start. a_ systematic discussion in every unit, on the question: “Should the Party be placed on the ballot?” Second, a certain number of com- vades from each unit should take the initiative and prove to the rest how easy it is to get workers. to sign petitions for our Party. This was done, and within a few weeks. the majority of our members swung into .line. This procedure was unavoidable, in view of the fact that this was the first time in the life of some comrades that they were to appear before great num- bers of workers and were compelled cpenly to identify themselves with the Communist Party and break the terrible seclusion that existed among our members. . The next difficulty we had to overcome was that a great number of our comrades lacked the English language, not being able to present cur Party’s ‘stand when confronted by prospective signers. This problem, tco, was solved by arranging the following methods: First, a memeographed bulletin em- bodying briefly the most important demands of our election campaign platform, a copy of which was left with every voter visited, regardless whether he or she signed for our Party. And, in the case of an argu- ment, all the comrade had to do was to refer them to this material. Second, comrades going out for signatures were urged to carry with them a:number of Party platforms, which they themselves should’ thor- oughly read to know exactly on what pages the various Party de- mands are, so as to be able to refer to them» copies of the platform to be sold to everyone who signs our petitions or left at their houses free of’ charge, if necessary. These methods proved very successful. Among those who helpag tremen- dously in this work are Gertrude Duel, Rose Tomkin, N. Raskin and Sarah Wand of New Haven, Ed. Mrasko of Bridgeport and K. Ep- stein and others of Hartford. Espe- cially credit is’due Comrade Duel, who went out for signatures every night from the beginning to the end of the campaign, collecting over 500 yames herself. Comrade Mrasko of Bridgeport did something more! He combined the getting of signatures | with selling literature. He always carried with nim from 25 to 30 cop- ies of the platform and with asking them to sign he would offer them a copy of our program. In this way he succeeded in selling a copy to every other signer, having sold from 250 to 300 copies thus, Attract Non-Party Workers. In our signatures campaign we succeeded in drawing into the work many sympathetic workers in every town in the state, who collected hundreds of names for our Party. In this respect, one in particular must be mentioned, namely, a worker in a huge machine shop in Branford, Conn., who came to our office, .offered his help and took petition lists. The next day at noon hour, while the workers were eate ing their lunch on the benches, he solicited everyone in the shop and ebtained 30 signatures. Most of the workers in his shop signed for it, he says, and they also promised to vote for it. The total results of the campaign for signatures at the end of the period was nearly 7,000 names—wn needed only 4,003, according to the state election law—and 22,000 pieces of literature, either sold or dis- tributed in the manner mentioned’ ebove. Thus, for the first time in the history of our Party, we defied the open-shoppers by placing our party on the ballot and giving an sunds terribly exploited, totally un- organized workers to. express their protest against the capitalist system by voting for the Workers (Commu- Connecti- For the first time the workers, cpportunity to the hundreds of thou-—